Here are some ideas for simple science experiments relating to the kitchen or garden.
Lesson objectives: Students will recognise that they are scientists. They will develop an understanding that a scientist is someone who asks questions, makes observations, makes predictions, tests their predictions and draws conclusions. They will see this in a range of areas of their life, including making predictions about Explicit Outcomes: Science K-10•SCLS 1VArecognises the role of science in personal, social and global issues relating to everyday life•SCLS 2VArecognises that using the processes of Working Scientifically increases their understanding of the world•SCLS 3VA demonstrates a willingness to engage with science-related issues relevant to their lives•SCLS 4WS asks questions that can be tested and makes predictions•SCLS 5WS participates in planning to investigate questions or problems•SCLS 6WS participates in an investigation by following a sequence•SCLS 7WS collects, records and interprets data and information Mathematics MALS5NA counts in familiar contexts
MA measures English K-10•ENLS 1A listens and responds in familiar contexts•ENLS 2A communicates for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts•ENLS 3A selects and uses language to communicate according to purpose, audience and context•ENLS 4A views and responds to a range of visual texts, media and multimedia•ENLS 5Arecognises and uses visual texts, media and multimedia for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts•ENLS 6A reads and responds to a range of written texts in familiar contexts Food Technology LS1.1 Demonstrates hygienic and safe practices in the selection, handling and storage of food LS2.1 Recognises the relationship between food properties, preparation and processing LS5.1 Participates in making food items
General Capabilities:
Numeracy
Literacy
Personal and social capability
Critical and Creative thinking
Environmental Education
WHAT IS A SCIENTIST? A scientist is a person who :
- records. - thinks
- collects. - asks questions
- wonders. - measures
- discovers. - classifies
- observes
- tests
- invents
- sorts
- experiments
A SCIENTIST IS YOU!!
Adding two things together Lesson Objective/ purpose: For students to investigate what happens when you add two things together (acid and base) and how they can cause a reaction. To observe the reaction and to make comment on the reactions they observe. To see the reaction in practical situation in food technology.
. Chemical Reaction: ACIDS AND BASES
dancing raisins Get raisins rockin' with this educational experiment.
Add a little snap, crackle, pop to his dull afternoon with water, baking soda, white vinegar and raisins in this kitchen science experiment.
Water
Baking soda
Don't buy a new box, just use the stuff you have open to deodorize the fridge.
White vinegar:
4 to 6 raisins
Measuring spoons/ cups
A tall, clear glass:
Procedure
Have your kid measure out 1 cup of water and pour it into a tall, clear glass.
Then have him add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
Get him to mix it up until the baking soda dissolves in the water.
Next, have him drop in the raisins. If he steals them from his Raisin Bran® box, make sure he washes them off before using them for the experiment. Don't want to inadvertently add sugar to the mix.
Finally, have him slowly pour in the magic ingredient—a ½ tablespoon of white vinegar!
Ta da! The raisins will start shaking their money makers, bobbing up and down in the glass.
If the raisins don't start hopping around, have your kid add a little more vinegar to the solution.
So how does this science experiment work? Vinegar is acetic acid and baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. By mixing them together, your kid is creating a chemical reaction between the acid (vinegar) and base (baking soda.) Together, they create carbonic acid which quickly breaks down into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O.) The CO2 gas is what you see foaming and bubbling. It's that gas that causes the raisins to boogie! It adheres to the raisins, causing them to rise to the surface. When the raisins reach the top of the glass, the CO2 gas evaporates, causing them to fall. The raisin will keep dancing for hours on end until it gets too soggy and heavy to float anymore.
making sherbert ;bicarb soda reaction in your mouth
You will need
Icing sugar
Citric acid
Bicarbonate soda
Flavoured jelly crystals
A teaspoon
A dessert spoon
A small mixing bowl
A container or bag to keep you sherbet in (unless you eat it all at once)
What to do
Add 1 level teaspoon of citric acid crystals to the bowl.
Add 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the bowl.
Now add 3 heaped dessert spoons of icing sugar.
Add at least 2 level dessert spoons of jelly crystals (or more to taste).
Place a small amount, about half a teaspoon on your tongue.
After tasting you may need to vary the ingredients. If it is too bitter add more sugar, if there isn't enough fizz you may need to add either bicarbonate soda or citric acid. Make sure you add only in small amounts, remember you can always add more but it is very hard to remove some.
What's happening?
You have just created an acid-base reaction in your mouth. When you combine an acid (in this activity the citric acid) and an alkaline (the bicarbonate soda) with saliva they mix together to create a gas in the form of lots of tiny bubbles. This is called an acid-based reaction and it's what gives sherbet its fizz. You are actually feeling the sensation of carbon dioxide bubbles on your tongue. These are the same bubbles that are in fizzy drinks.
The icing sugar is needed to add sweetness as the citric acid and bicarbonate soda are quite sour. Citric acid is one of the acids found in lemons, oranges and limes. That is why they are called 'citric fruit'. The other acid in lemons and other citric fruit is called ascorbic acid. This is commonly known as vitamin C.
The jelly crystals add flavour.
Applications
Acids and bases can be found in many places. There is acid in lemon juice, car batteries and bee stings. Detergents found in the home are a common example of a base. Sherbet is most commonly known as Whiz-Fizz. Acids and bases are chemical compounds. To understand the difference, first we need to know that an ion is a molecule or atom that has an electrical charge. Normally there are equal numbers of positive and negatively charged particles in an atom or molecule, so they cancel out and there is no overall charge.
There are several ways to define an acid or base, but one of the most common is:
An acid is a compound that can give up a positively-charged hydrogen ion in a chemical reaction.
A base is a compound that will join onto a hydrogen ion in a chemical reaction.
Acids are often found in living things. The "A" in DNA stands for "acid". Bases are often found in cleaning compounds.
Exploding sandwich bag highlighting the interaction of vinegar and bicarb. video......
Bubbly colours in muffin tray highlighting interaction of vinegar and bicarb. video.....video
Bicarb soda and vinegar, what’s with that?
Combining bicarb soda and vinegar produces a multi-step reaction. Each reaction happens in quick succession. That’s why it’s such a dramatic result.
The acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate to form carbonic acid.
The carbonic acid is unstable. It immediately falls apart, splitting into two components – carbon dioxide and water. (This is a decomposition reaction.)
In the balloon and sandwich bag experiments, the carbon dioxide escapes as gas and expands the air inside the balloon/sandwich bag. This causes the balloon to inflate and the sandwich bag (because it’s sealed tight) to pop.
With the muffin tin, the bubbles that form are the carbon dioxide escaping the watery solution; but the carbon dioxide is heavier than air so once it has escaped into the air, it sort of falls down again. This results in the solution bubbling up and then flowing down over the top of the muffin tin like lava Make pancakes to view the bubbles being formed
- students to cook pancakes (recipe 1 cup SR flour, 1 egg, 20 g butter melted, 1/4 tsp bicarb, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 cup milk)
- students observe the bubbles while cooking, verbal discussion of how this relates to the bicarb soda experiments completed earlier.
( Numeracy: count pancakes as preparing, measure ingredients)
Milk and dish soap, what’s their problem?
1. Milky Art (ART)
Students explore what happens when mixing mediums together. Encourage students to take risks in their art work. There is no wrong in art.
provide each student with a plastic bowl or container.
half fill each with milk
have students add a few drops of each of the food colourings around the edge of the bowl. Keep the colours separate.
have students add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the centre of the milk.
Have students observe what happens when each process is completed.
What happens when the colours are added to the milk?
What happens when the dishwashing liquid is added?
The swirling is a result of the fat and protein content in the milk reacting with the bipolar qualities of the dish soap. Similar in principle to the poles of a magnet, the dish soap has a water-loving end and a water-repellent end.
So when you add it to the milk the opposing poles of the dish soap molecules get displaced by the fat content in the milk and then roll around trying to find each other, the fat and protein in the milk gets pushed aside. The food colouring gets caught in the mix and highlights the dancing action between the molecules.
As the soap and the milk mix evenly together, the action slows down and eventually stops
Cut a potato in half. Fill two saucers/dishes with water. Mix salt into one of the dishes and then label them so you which one has the salty water. Place one potato half into each dish with the cut/flat side down – watch what happens after about 30 minutes. The salt water draws the water out of the potato, causing it to shrivel. Like the potato, salty food and drinks make people thirsty. You should only have these foods occasionally.
Vinegar EGG
The idea is the vinegar (acetic acid) will eat the outer shell of the egg leaving the yolk (raw or hardboiled). You do not have to do this with hardboiled eggs. In fact, the raw egg is the most interesting. I just included hardboiled eggs because of the abundance of Easter Eggs this week. Ingredients:
3 eggs: one raw, one hardboiled, one hardboiled Easter egg
Clear vinegar
3 mason jars with lids.
Time (24 hours)
Directions:
Place each egg in a mason jar properly labelled.
Cover with vinegar and close the lid on the jar.
Watch over a 24 hour period.
You can see the gas bubbles forming on the shell of the egg. Egg shells are made of calcium carbonate. The vinegar or acetic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate creating a gas, carbon dioxide. The egg shell slowly disappears leaving the yolk which is surround by a thin membrane. Ideas to increase self learning or interest:
Let your child taste water and vinegar. Talk about the difference in taste. Discuss the neutral pH of water and the acidic pH (low) of the vinegar.
Let your child crack a raw egg and hardboiled egg prior to the experiment.
Afterwards, let your child play with the raw egg membrane. You may want to do this incase the membrane breaks.
The videos below are from Royal. He is a 10 year old autistic child that really enjoys science. He did some of the explaining on his own without being prompted and he's very proud of that. He really enjoys the shows Mythbusters and Head Rush. They are the inspiration for his show "It's not Magic it's Science" He hopes you enjoy this video along with his other videos
Make fudge in a glad bag video Make icecream in a bag
17 November 2011 - by KitchenPantryScientist
Gluten is a hot topic these days, but most people aren’t really sure what it is. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It makes bread chewy and helps hold the bubbles that yeast makes in dough so that it can rise. (Here’s a fun yeast experiment!) Although some people have a disorder called celiac disease which impedes them from digesting gluten properly, most people can eat it without any problem. You can easily extract a ball of gluten from flour using nothing but your hands and cold water, to see for yourself what this stretchy grain protein looks like. Just add a cup of water to a cup of flour, mix it together and knead it for about 5 minutes. (Add more flour if it’s too sticky to handle.) Now, put the dough under COLD water and start “washing” out the carbohydrates so that mostly the gluten remains. Your hands will freeze, so you may need to take a break. If you keep going until the water coming off the dough is mostly clear, you’ll be left with a gluten ball.
Some types of flour have more gluten than others, and sometimes extra gluten is added to pizza dough to make it chewier! Try this with several types of flour to see what has the most gluten (or no gluten.)
November 17, 2010 - by KitchenPantryScientist
Using cranberries and baking soda, you can create invisible messages that will be revealed to friendly eyes and self-destruct before your enemies have a chance to read them. You’ll see how some pigments in fruit can change color when they’re exposed to an acid or a base.
. Here’s the link, if you want to watch a video demonstration!
You will need half a bag of cranberries, water, baking soda and some printer paper. To write your message, you’ll also want to find a small paintbrush, Q-tip, or something else with an absorbent tip. We made our own pens by wrapping a tiny piece of paper towel around the pointed end of a wooden skewer and winding scotch tape around to secure it. Be sure to put on an apron or wear old clothes for this experiment, since cranberry juice stains!
Have an adult or teenager boil the cranberries in about three cups of water for 15 or 20 minutes. Be sure to put a lid on the pan, since the small pockets of air that help cranberries float can make them explode as they cook. If you listen, you’ll hear some of the them popping! Crush the cooked berries and push the liquid through a sieve or colander to collect the concentrated cranberry juice. Most cranberry juice from the grocery store is diluted with water, corn syrup and other juices and won’t work as well!
Let the juice cool and pour it into a casserole dish or cake pan that the paper you’re writing your messages on will fit into. If your cranberry juice seems thick and syrupy, add a little water (maybe half a cup.) It has to have enough water in it so that it will soak into the paper!
Add a few teaspoons of baking soda to about 1/3 cup of warm water and dissolve it as well as you can. (Don’t worry if you can still see some baking soda.) Using a Q-tip, paintbrush, or your homemade writing tool, use the baking soda solution to write a message on your paper. It may take a little practice, so don’t get frustrated. You’ll get the hang of it!
Let your message air dry, or speed things up with a blow dryer.
To reveal your message, place your paper in the cranberry juice and see what happens!
The science behind the fun:
Cranberries contain pigments called anthocyanins (an-tho-SY-a-nins), which give them their bright color. In nature, these pigments attract birds and other animals to fruit. This is important because animals eat the berries and spread plants seeds from one place to another.
These pigments, called flavanoids, change color when they come in contact with acids and bases. Cranberry juice is very acidic, and the pigment is red in acids. When you add it to a base, it turns purple or blue. Baking soda is a base, so your baking soda message will turn blue when it comes into contact with the pigments in the cranberry juice. Eventually, when enough cranberry juice soaks into the paper, it will dilute the baking soda and make the paper acidic, turning the pigment back to red and your message will disappear!
There are over 300 kinds of anthocyanins which are found in many fruits and vegetables including blueberries, red cabbage, grapes and blueberries. Scientists think they may have many health benefits and some researchers are even making organic solar cells using flavanoids!
What other juices can you use to reveal secret messages? What other bases could you use as ink?
Try making your own recipe for spy juice! I’d love to hear how red cabbage works! Check out my red cabbage litmus paper experiment to find out how to make red cabbage juice.
Let me know what works best!
Heating food up. How does it change?
Find out what happens when some materials are heated up (bread, uncooked popcorn, candle).
Show each item to students one at a time.
Allow students to feel and smell each of the items, assist students to select words to describe each item
BREAD: soft, white, squishy
POPCORN: hard, yellow, small
CANDLE: hard, smooth, cool
Have students toast the bread, pop the corn, light the candle.
Show each item to students one at a time a second time
Ask students what has changed. Assist students to describe each item.
BREAD: crispy, brown, rough
POPCORN: white, squishy, crunchy
CANDLE: soft, warm, smokey
Grass Heads
cut the feet off a pair of stockings ( approximately 5 cm above the ankle). Make sure you have enough stockings for each student to make one grass head.
have students place some grass seeds in the stocking.
have students fill the stocking with soil (make sure not to over fill the stocking as you will need to be able to tie the stocking off).
using super glue, attach eyes to the stockings.
once glue is touch dry, students water their creations
monitor very two days and make sure to water them.
Growing Both Ends
Using a potato students will observe how roots and leaves grow.
Half fill a plastic cup with water.
Place for toothpicks around the middle of a potato
place the potato in the cup (the toothpicks will stop the potato from falling in)
Make sure the bottom of the potato is touching the water.
leave for 3-5 days, having students taking photos each day.
LAVA LAMP HOW DOES IT WORK?
The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense, than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or more dense, than water, and sinks to the bottom. When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes.
YOU WILL NEED
Clear jar with lid
Water
Food coloring
Glitter
Vegetable oil
Salt
Flashlight
Fill the jar three-quarters full of water. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. A few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. Fill the jar almost to the top with vegetable oil and let the mixture separate. Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp effect. When the bubbles stop, add more salt to see it again. Shine a flashlight behind the jar to watch your lava lamp really glow! Dissolving and making a solution Lesson Objective/ purpose: Students are to observe , make predictions and conclusions about what happens when mixing different things with water/ liquid. This is a continuation of the “liquids” topic and will look at what will dissolve. They will apply this knowledge in cooking practicals. Dissolving and mixing
(review solids, liquids and identify each substance as they are mixed.)
DISAPPEARING ACT - find materials that will dissolve in water
3/4 fill 7 glasses/ jars with water
have students place other materials in the water ( salt, sugar, flour, sand, rocks, rice, tomato sauce, dirt, soda)
have each student stir/ shake each item into the water.
What happens? Which materials dissolved?
INVISIBLE INK: write an invisible message and watch it reappear
dip a cotton bud into lemon juice.
use the cotton bud as a pen to write/draw a message on to paper
wait for you "ink" to air dry and completely disappear
iron over the dry page or place a candle behind the writing and watch the message reappear.
Rock and dissolve
Observations over time as to if water, vinegar or lemon can dissolve chalk
- Pour 1/2 glass of each water, lemon, vinegar
-place a piece of chalk in each glass
- make observations each day. Take photos of each day so students can physically see changes. , Also take measurements so they can see
Cooking: making lemonade
Recipe: dissolve sugar and water, add lemons.
Remind the students that the sugar has dissolved.
Making jelly from fruit juice
a) have a selection of fruits/ vegetables
b) students to select three to make a juice, they can try each juice and say if they like it or not
c) from the one the class likes the most, make a larger batch
d) add gelatin. Students to observe that gelatin is dissolving in the hot water.
e) put into cups and in fridge to make jelly the next day. Erosion- wind and water changing the land. This video gives a very good example of ways to taech errosion. http://www.attainmentcompany.com/early-science-curriculum look under video tab
this lesson came from a unit on rocks
Here are some ideas for simple science experiments relating to the kitchen or garden.
Lesson objectives:
Students will recognise that they are scientists. They will develop an understanding that a scientist is someone who asks questions, makes observations, makes predictions, tests their predictions and draws conclusions. They will see this in a range of areas of their life, including making predictions about
Explicit Outcomes:
Science K-10•SCLS 1VArecognises the role of science in personal, social and global issues relating to everyday life•SCLS 2VArecognises that using the processes of Working Scientifically increases their understanding of the world•SCLS 3VA demonstrates a willingness to engage with science-related issues relevant to their lives•SCLS 4WS asks questions that can be tested and makes predictions•SCLS 5WS participates in planning to investigate questions or problems•SCLS 6WS participates in an investigation by following a sequence•SCLS 7WS collects, records and interprets data and information
Mathematics
MALS5NA counts in familiar contexts
MA measures
English K-10•ENLS 1A listens and responds in familiar contexts•ENLS 2A communicates for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts•ENLS 3A selects and uses language to communicate according to purpose, audience and context•ENLS 4A views and responds to a range of visual texts, media and multimedia•ENLS 5Arecognises and uses visual texts, media and multimedia for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts•ENLS 6A reads and responds to a range of written texts in familiar contexts
Food Technology
LS1.1 Demonstrates hygienic and safe practices in the selection, handling and storage of food
LS2.1 Recognises the relationship between food properties, preparation and processing
LS5.1 Participates in making food items
General Capabilities:
Numeracy
Literacy
Personal and social capability
Critical and Creative thinking
Environmental Education
WHAT IS A SCIENTIST?
A scientist is a person who :
- records. - thinks
- collects. - asks questions
- wonders. - measures
- discovers. - classifies
- observes
- tests
- invents
- sorts
- experiments
A SCIENTIST IS YOU!!
Adding two things together
Lesson Objective/ purpose: For students to investigate what happens when you add two things together (acid and base) and how they can cause a reaction. To observe the reaction and to make comment on the reactions they observe. To see the reaction in practical situation in food technology.
. Chemical Reaction: ACIDS AND BASES
dancing raisins
Get raisins rockin' with this educational experiment.
Add a little snap, crackle, pop to his dull afternoon with water, baking soda, white vinegar and raisins in this kitchen science experiment.
- Water
- Baking soda
- Don't buy a new box, just use the stuff you have open to deodorize the fridge.
- White vinegar:
- 4 to 6 raisins
- Measuring spoons/ cups
- A tall, clear glass:
Proceduremaking sherbert ;bicarb soda reaction in your mouth
You will need
- Icing sugar
- Citric acid
- Bicarbonate soda
- Flavoured jelly crystals
- A teaspoon
- A dessert spoon
- A small mixing bowl
- A container or bag to keep you sherbet in (unless you eat it all at once)
What to do- Add 1 level teaspoon of citric acid crystals to the bowl.
- Add 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the bowl.
- Now add 3 heaped dessert spoons of icing sugar.
- Add at least 2 level dessert spoons of jelly crystals (or more to taste).
- Place a small amount, about half a teaspoon on your tongue.
- After tasting you may need to vary the ingredients. If it is too bitter add more sugar, if there isn't enough fizz you may need to add either bicarbonate soda or citric acid. Make sure you add only in small amounts, remember you can always add more but it is very hard to remove some.
What's happening?You have just created an acid-base reaction in your mouth. When you combine an acid (in this activity the citric acid) and an alkaline (the bicarbonate soda) with saliva they mix together to create a gas in the form of lots of tiny bubbles. This is called an acid-based reaction and it's what gives sherbet its fizz. You are actually feeling the sensation of carbon dioxide bubbles on your tongue. These are the same bubbles that are in fizzy drinks.
The icing sugar is needed to add sweetness as the citric acid and bicarbonate soda are quite sour. Citric acid is one of the acids found in lemons, oranges and limes. That is why they are called 'citric fruit'. The other acid in lemons and other citric fruit is called ascorbic acid. This is commonly known as vitamin C.
The jelly crystals add flavour.
Applications
Acids and bases can be found in many places. There is acid in lemon juice, car batteries and bee stings. Detergents found in the home are a common example of a base. Sherbet is most commonly known as Whiz-Fizz. Acids and bases are chemical compounds. To understand the difference, first we need to know that an ion is a molecule or atom that has an electrical charge. Normally there are equal numbers of positive and negatively charged particles in an atom or molecule, so they cancel out and there is no overall charge.
There are several ways to define an acid or base, but one of the most common is:
- An acid is a compound that can give up a positively-charged hydrogen ion in a chemical reaction.
- A base is a compound that will join onto a hydrogen ion in a chemical reaction.
Acids are often found in living things. The "A" in DNA stands for "acid". Bases are often found in cleaning compounds.Chemical reactions lesson plan
Bubbly colours in muffin tray highlighting interaction of vinegar and bicarb. video.....video
Bicarb soda and vinegar, what’s with that?
Combining bicarb soda and vinegar produces a multi-step reaction. Each reaction happens in quick succession. That’s why it’s such a dramatic result.
- The acetic acid in the vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate to form carbonic acid.
- The carbonic acid is unstable. It immediately falls apart, splitting into two components – carbon dioxide and water. (This is a decomposition reaction.)
In the balloon and sandwich bag experiments, the carbon dioxide escapes as gas and expands the air inside the balloon/sandwich bag. This causes the balloon to inflate and the sandwich bag (because it’s sealed tight) to pop.With the muffin tin, the bubbles that form are the carbon dioxide escaping the watery solution; but the carbon dioxide is heavier than air so once it has escaped into the air, it sort of falls down again. This results in the solution bubbling up and then flowing down over the top of the muffin tin like lava
Make pancakes to view the bubbles being formed
- students to cook pancakes (recipe 1 cup SR flour, 1 egg, 20 g butter melted, 1/4 tsp bicarb, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 cup milk)
- students observe the bubbles while cooking, verbal discussion of how this relates to the bicarb soda experiments completed earlier.
( Numeracy: count pancakes as preparing, measure ingredients)
- colourful milk swirl video.......video
Milk and dish soap, what’s their problem?1. Milky Art (ART)
Students explore what happens when mixing mediums together. Encourage students to take risks in their art work. There is no wrong in art.
- provide each student with a plastic bowl or container.
- half fill each with milk
- have students add a few drops of each of the food colourings around the edge of the bowl. Keep the colours separate.
- have students add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to the centre of the milk.
Have students observe what happens when each process is completed.What happens when the colours are added to the milk?
What happens when the dishwashing liquid is added?
The swirling is a result of the fat and protein content in the milk reacting with the bipolar qualities of the dish soap. Similar in principle to the poles of a magnet, the dish soap has a water-loving end and a water-repellent end.
So when you add it to the milk the opposing poles of the dish soap molecules get displaced by the fat content in the milk and then roll around trying to find each other, the fat and protein in the milk gets pushed aside. The food colouring gets caught in the mix and highlights the dancing action between the molecules.
As the soap and the milk mix evenly together, the action slows down and eventually stops
- Vinegar EGG
The idea is the vinegar (acetic acid) will eat the outer shell of the egg leaving the yolk (raw or hardboiled). You do not have to do this with hardboiled eggs. In fact, the raw egg is the most interesting. I just included hardboiled eggs because of the abundance of Easter Eggs this week.Salty potato experiment
Cut a potato in half. Fill two saucers/dishes with water. Mix salt into one of the dishes and then label them so you which one has the salty water. Place one potato half into each dish with the cut/flat side down – watch what happens after about 30 minutes. The salt water draws the water out of the potato, causing it to shrivel.
Like the potato, salty food and drinks make people thirsty. You should only have these foods occasionally.
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs: one raw, one hardboiled, one hardboiled Easter egg
- Clear vinegar
- 3 mason jars with lids.
- Time (24 hours)
Directions:You can see the gas bubbles forming on the shell of the egg. Egg shells are made of calcium carbonate. The vinegar or acetic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate creating a gas, carbon dioxide. The egg shell slowly disappears leaving the yolk which is surround by a thin membrane.
Ideas to increase self learning or interest:
- Let your child taste water and vinegar. Talk about the difference in taste. Discuss the neutral pH of water and the acidic pH (low) of the vinegar.
- Let your child crack a raw egg and hardboiled egg prior to the experiment.
- Afterwards, let your child play with the raw egg membrane. You may want to do this incase the membrane breaks.
Yeast experiement -http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/activity-yeast.htmlPainted eggs with lemon and red cabbage looking at acid and how it changes things
http://kitchenpantryscientist.com/?p=1866
Use vinegar and milk to make plastic and glue
http://kitchenpantryscientist.com/?p=984
The videos below are from Royal. He is a 10 year old autistic child that really enjoys science. He did some of the explaining on his own without being prompted and he's very proud of that. He really enjoys the shows Mythbusters and Head Rush. They are the inspiration for his show "It's not Magic it's Science" He hopes you enjoy this video along with his other videos
Make fudge in a glad bag video
Make icecream in a bag
Gluten Ball
17 November 2011 - by KitchenPantryScientistGluten is a hot topic these days, but most people aren’t really sure what it is. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It makes bread chewy and helps hold the bubbles that yeast makes in dough so that it can rise. (Here’s a fun yeast experiment!) Although some people have a disorder called celiac disease which impedes them from digesting gluten properly, most people can eat it without any problem. You can easily extract a ball of gluten from flour using nothing but your hands and cold water, to see for yourself what this stretchy grain protein looks like. Just add a cup of water to a cup of flour, mix it together and knead it for about 5 minutes. (Add more flour if it’s too sticky to handle.) Now, put the dough under COLD water and start “washing” out the carbohydrates so that mostly the gluten remains. Your hands will freeze, so you may need to take a break. If you keep going until the water coming off the dough is mostly clear, you’ll be left with a gluten ball.
Some types of flour have more gluten than others, and sometimes extra gluten is added to pizza dough to make it chewier! Try this with several types of flour to see what has the most gluten (or no gluten.)
Spy Juice and Invisible Ink
November 17, 2010 - by KitchenPantryScientistUsing cranberries and baking soda, you can create invisible messages that will be revealed to friendly eyes and self-destruct before your enemies have a chance to read them. You’ll see how some pigments in fruit can change color when they’re exposed to an acid or a base.
. Here’s the link, if you want to watch a video demonstration!
You will need half a bag of cranberries, water, baking soda and some printer paper. To write your message, you’ll also want to find a small paintbrush, Q-tip, or something else with an absorbent tip. We made our own pens by wrapping a tiny piece of paper towel around the pointed end of a wooden skewer and winding scotch tape around to secure it. Be sure to put on an apron or wear old clothes for this experiment, since cranberry juice stains!
Have an adult or teenager boil the cranberries in about three cups of water for 15 or 20 minutes. Be sure to put a lid on the pan, since the small pockets of air that help cranberries float can make them explode as they cook. If you listen, you’ll hear some of the them popping! Crush the cooked berries and push the liquid through a sieve or colander to collect the concentrated cranberry juice. Most cranberry juice from the grocery store is diluted with water, corn syrup and other juices and won’t work as well!
Let the juice cool and pour it into a casserole dish or cake pan that the paper you’re writing your messages on will fit into. If your cranberry juice seems thick and syrupy, add a little water (maybe half a cup.) It has to have enough water in it so that it will soak into the paper!
Add a few teaspoons of baking soda to about 1/3 cup of warm water and dissolve it as well as you can. (Don’t worry if you can still see some baking soda.) Using a Q-tip, paintbrush, or your homemade writing tool, use the baking soda solution to write a message on your paper. It may take a little practice, so don’t get frustrated. You’ll get the hang of it!
Let your message air dry, or speed things up with a blow dryer.
To reveal your message, place your paper in the cranberry juice and see what happens!
The science behind the fun:
Cranberries contain pigments called anthocyanins (an-tho-SY-a-nins), which give them their bright color. In nature, these pigments attract birds and other animals to fruit. This is important because animals eat the berries and spread plants seeds from one place to another.
These pigments, called flavanoids, change color when they come in contact with acids and bases. Cranberry juice is very acidic, and the pigment is red in acids. When you add it to a base, it turns purple or blue. Baking soda is a base, so your baking soda message will turn blue when it comes into contact with the pigments in the cranberry juice. Eventually, when enough cranberry juice soaks into the paper, it will dilute the baking soda and make the paper acidic, turning the pigment back to red and your message will disappear!
There are over 300 kinds of anthocyanins which are found in many fruits and vegetables including blueberries, red cabbage, grapes and blueberries. Scientists think they may have many health benefits and some researchers are even making organic solar cells using flavanoids!
What other juices can you use to reveal secret messages? What other bases could you use as ink?
Try making your own recipe for spy juice! I’d love to hear how red cabbage works! Check out my red cabbage litmus paper experiment to find out how to make red cabbage juice.
Let me know what works best!
Heating food up. How does it change?
Find out what happens when some materials are heated up (bread, uncooked popcorn, candle).
Show each item to students one at a time.
Allow students to feel and smell each of the items, assist students to select words to describe each item
BREAD: soft, white, squishy
POPCORN: hard, yellow, small
CANDLE: hard, smooth, cool
Have students toast the bread, pop the corn, light the candle.
Show each item to students one at a time a second time
Ask students what has changed. Assist students to describe each item.
BREAD: crispy, brown, rough
POPCORN: white, squishy, crunchy
CANDLE: soft, warm, smokey
Grass Heads
Growing Both Ends
Using a potato students will observe how roots and leaves grow.
- Half fill a plastic cup with water.
- Place for toothpicks around the middle of a potato
- place the potato in the cup (the toothpicks will stop the potato from falling in)
- Make sure the bottom of the potato is touching the water.
- leave for 3-5 days, having students taking photos each day.
The end in the water will grow roots while the other will sprout leaves.Solar oven to cook marshmallows
http://kitchenpantryscientist.com/?tag=pizza-box
LAVA LAMP
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense, than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or more dense, than water, and sinks to the bottom. When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes.
YOU WILL NEED
- Clear jar with lid
- Water
- Food coloring
- Glitter
- Vegetable oil
- Salt
- Flashlight
Fill the jar three-quarters full of water. Add drops of food coloring until you like the color you see. A few drops go a long way! Sprinkle in glitter for extra sparkle. Fill the jar almost to the top with vegetable oil and let the mixture separate. Pour salt into the jar until you see the cool lava lamp effect. When the bubbles stop, add more salt to see it again. Shine a flashlight behind the jar to watch your lava lamp really glow!Dissolving and making a solution
Lesson Objective/ purpose: Students are to observe , make predictions and conclusions about what happens when mixing different things with water/ liquid. This is a continuation of the “liquids” topic and will look at what will dissolve. They will apply this knowledge in cooking practicals.
Dissolving and mixing
(review solids, liquids and identify each substance as they are mixed.)
DISAPPEARING ACT - find materials that will dissolve in water
- 3/4 fill 7 glasses/ jars with water
- have students place other materials in the water ( salt, sugar, flour, sand, rocks, rice, tomato sauce, dirt, soda)
- have each student stir/ shake each item into the water.
What happens? Which materials dissolved?INVISIBLE INK: write an invisible message and watch it reappear
- dip a cotton bud into lemon juice.
- use the cotton bud as a pen to write/draw a message on to paper
- wait for you "ink" to air dry and completely disappear
- iron over the dry page or place a candle behind the writing and watch the message reappear.
Rock and dissolveObservations over time as to if water, vinegar or lemon can dissolve chalk
- Pour 1/2 glass of each water, lemon, vinegar
-place a piece of chalk in each glass
- make observations each day. Take photos of each day so students can physically see changes. , Also take measurements so they can see
Cooking: making lemonade
Recipe: dissolve sugar and water, add lemons.
Remind the students that the sugar has dissolved.
Making jelly from fruit juice
a) have a selection of fruits/ vegetables
b) students to select three to make a juice, they can try each juice and say if they like it or not
c) from the one the class likes the most, make a larger batch
d) add gelatin. Students to observe that gelatin is dissolving in the hot water.
e) put into cups and in fridge to make jelly the next day.
Erosion- wind and water changing the land. This video gives a very good example of ways to taech errosion.
http://www.attainmentcompany.com/early-science-curriculum look under video tab
this lesson came from a unit on rocks
Changes - animal life cycle lesson video look under video tab
http://www.attainmentcompany.com/early-science-curriculum
Other ideas can be found on this blog
http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/?cat=39